Autumn And Gratitude
Ian Revie
This week I've felt very aware of the changing season. It's impossible not to notice the changing clocks, colours of leaves and the weather. Modern life insulates us from many of the seasonal changes: we put the heating on, vacuum the condensation from the windows (I got a window vac last year and it's a great invention in an old damp house!) and we can still buy tomatoes and strawberries in the supermarket if we want.
Still, it is a healthy rhythm to notice the seasons and how traditions and spiritual life can resonate with nature.
Harvest festival is a traditional part of this in many denominations. As farmers collect in their crops and there is abundance, we stop and recognise the richness we have been blessed with. We choose to share what we have with those who are in need.
These rhythms run right back to the Old Testament stories, and parallels can be found across different cultures and faiths. In the book of Ruth (chapter 2) we see the tradition of allowing widows to collect the leftover grain at harvest. In modern harvest tin collections we do a similar thing: setting aside something to share with others.
Autumn is also a natural time of letting go and reflection. In Ecclesiastes chapter 3 the writer contrasts life's different seasons including ‘a time to plant and a time to uproot’ (v2). As we've come to the end of the sermon season on ‘With You Always’, it's good to reflect on God being with us in times of uprooting and letting go, as well as when we begin new and exciting things.
In the gospels Jesus frequently uses analogies related to plants and farming. There are stories of seeds, weeds, fields ready for harvest, and the effortless beauty of the flowers in the field. In Matthew 6:28 there is a verse relating to worry which ends with ‘See how the flowers of the field grow, they do not labour or spin’.
Running through these verses there is a tension: we are given work to join in with, seeds to sow, weeds to uproot, harvest to gather - but it is God who causes things to grow, including us & the growth which occurs in our lives.
As we move through Autumn, I am both grateful for the things God has grown in me this year and also for the work he has allowed me to share. I am also trusting that he is always with me for the things I cannot make happen in my own strength and the things I need to let go of - like the trees letting go of their leaves for the winter.
